Senate blocks $35B hiring bill

President Barack Obama’s jobs agenda hit another roadblock in the Senate on Thursday night, as the two parties remained locked in a bitter stalemate with the economy sputtering and tens of millions looking for work.

In their first attempt to advance individual pieces of the president’s sprawling American Jobs Act, Democrats fell short of the 60 votes needed to move forward a $35 billion package for states and localities to hire and prevent the layoffs of teachers and first responders.

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A united GOP Conference, along with three members of the Senate Democratic Caucus — Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) — voted 50-50 to block a debate on the package, which would have been funded by a 0.5 percent surtax on those earning more than $1 million.

“It seems all we care about is scoring political points to be used in the next election,” said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). “Shame on us if the blame game is the best thing that we can do.”

The vote is another blow to Obama’s jobs agenda, as he struggles to find a new antidote to the economy after nearly four years of an unprecedented push by Washington that has so far failed to lead to a sustained recovery. And as the economic problems dominate his presidential campaign, the president has struggled to find consensus in a gridlocked Capitol, including in the Democratic-controlled Senate where the $35 billion plan garnered one fewer Democratic vote than his $447 billion proposal.

The Senate on Thursday night also rejected by a 57-43 vote a separate portion of the president’s jobs bill, pushed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), eliminating a much-criticized rule allowing federal and local agencies to withhold 3 percent of payments to contractors.

Ten Democrats, which included a mix of moderates and those up for reelection, voted for the McConnell amendment, but 60 votes were needed to break a Democratic-led filibuster.

“It turns out there is a very sensible provision in the president’s second stimulus bill that would help businesses across the country,” McConnell said late Thursday night.

But the $11.6 billion plan included cuts of $30 billion aimed at discretionary spending programs that would have been identified by the White House Office of Management and Budget, which opposed the measure on those grounds, saying such cuts would lead to a “serious disruption in a range of services.”

“This is nothing more than a misdirected stunt by my friend, the Republican leader,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said on the floor. “The provision will be repealed but it should be done the right way.”

The House is expected to take up a proposal slashing the so-called withholding provision next week, and Senate Democrats said they had their own measure as well that would be offset with higher taxes on oil and gas companies and eliminating certain foreign tax credits.